This document discusses the digital transformation efforts at De Montfort University. It provides context about the author and university. It describes the challenges facing higher education institutions, including decreased public funding. The university developed a digital transformation strategy in 2012 to modernize outdated systems and infrastructure, improve the student experience, and incorporate more digital processes. The strategy involved replacing legacy networks and servers, implementing unified communications, and procuring new finance, HR, and student systems. Lessons learned included the importance of standards, resources, change management, focusing on processes before technology, and ensuring long-term costs are considered in business cases.

1. Going Digital in Higher Education
Dieter Kraftner
Director of IT & Media Services
De Montfort University
29 April 2016

2. Contents
 Context (About me, my organisation, sector)
 What is Digital? What is Digital Transformation?
 Digital Transformation at DMU
 The picture in 2012
 The Strategy
 Governance
 The Journey
 Lessons & Challenges

3. About Me
 24 years public sector IT
 13 years Local Government (4 Unitary authorities)
 4 years NHS (Hospital Foundation Trust)
 7 years Higher Education (2 Universities)

4. About De Montfort University
 Originally founded as the Leicester School of Art in 1870, evolved into the
Leicester Colleges of Art and Technology and Leicester Polytechnic.
 Became University in 1992
 50 buildings in single campus in Leicester with full Wi-Fi coverage
 22000 Students/2500 Staff
 6000 PCs/laptops,
 25000 devices connected to Wi-Fi
 100+ supported business applications
 1000 desktop applications

5. Challenges of Higher Education
 Moved from public funded to student funded from 2011
 Student number controls removed in 2015
 Highly competitive market, locally/nationally/internationally
 UG student fees frozen at £9000 for past 5 years
 Need to increase student numbers to cover increased costs and
investments
 Need to improve student experience, facilities,

6. IT Strategy
Digital Transformation
Strategy

7. What is an IT Strategy?
Gartner:
IT strategy is the discipline that defines how IT will be used to help
businesses win in their chosen business context.
Oakleigh Consulting:
An IT strategy is typically a long-term action plan for achieving a goal, set
in the context of a rapidly changing technology environment. For any IT
strategy to be effective it must have measurable links to a business
strategy.

8. What is Digital?
Oxford Dictionary:
Signals or data expressed as series of the digits 0 and 1, typically
represented by values of a physical quantity such as voltage or magnetic
polarization.
Relating to, using, or storing data or information in the form of digital
signals: e.g. digital TV
Involving or relating to the use of computer technology: e.g. the digital
revolution

9. What is Transformation?
Oxford Dictionary
A marked change in form, nature, or appearance

10. What is Digital Transformation?
Digital transformation is the process of shifting your
organisation from a legacy approach to new ways of working
and thinking using digital, social, mobile and emerging
technologies.
It involves a change in leadership, different thinking, the
encouragement of innovation and new business models,
incorporating digitisation of assets and an increased use of
technology to improve the experience of your organisation’s
employees, customers, suppliers, partners and stakeholders.
http://www.theagileelephant.com/what-is-digital-
transformation/

11. Why do organisations need to transform?
“Businesses go through transformation
when they have failed to evolve”

12. IT & DMU in 2012
 Historic underinvestment in IT infrastructure (Physical servers, Legacy
Network)
 Campus Wi-Fi, but limited coverage and capacity
 No central desktop deployment and management
 Ad-hoc investment in Teaching Infrastructure – no standards
 Legacy core systems (Finance, HR & Student Systems >15 years old)
 Many paper processes
 No IT strategy
 No Knowledge or Document Management
 Implemented Unified Communications (Digital Telephony, Integration of
Lync & Exchange)

13. The Strategy
Make the case for the need for investment
Ensure the underlying network and technical infrastructure is fit-for-purpose
Quick digital wins for students Implement Governance Model
Develop strategy with funding and implementation plan for 4 years
Any device/any location/any platform Single sign-on
Modernise Core Systems
Focus on transformational digital improvements for students
knowledge & document management

14. Governance

15. The Journey
2013
Network Infrastructure replacement
Replace legacy teaching infrastructure – large rooms
Implement Governance Model
2014
Publish IT strategy with funding plan for 4 years
Server infrastructure replacement, P to V migration
Replace legacy teaching infrastructure – smaller rooms
Implement e-Applications, e-Enrolment
Implement desktop management and application delivery

16. The Journey
2015
Procurement of Core Systems and Implementation Partner
Business Process review of all administrative processes
Implement BI & Data Visualisation Tools
2016
Publish Digital Transformation Strategy with funding plan
Implement new Finance & Procurement System
E-submission and e-marking
New Intranet to incorporate document & knowledge management
Lecture capture & replay
Office 365 for students

17. The Journey
2017
Implement new HR & Payroll System
Implement new Student System
Implement new CRM System
Migrate to Windows 10 and Office 365/2016 for staff

18. Lessons & Challenges
Policies &
Standards
Process
Technology
Cost
People
Policies & Standards
• Agree and document
Architectural principles and
standards at the very
beginning
• Agree and document records
management & retention
policy
• Tighten Information Security
and governance policies as
technology changes

19. Lessons & Challenges
Policies &
Standards
Process
Technology
Cost
People
People - Resources
• Right technical skills
• Capacity (both IT & non-
IT)
• BAU vs. Project resources

20. Lessons & Challenges
Policies &
Standards
Process
Technology
Cost
People
People - Culture
• Not all students are digital
natives
• Staff: From very keen to
resistant to change
• Communication – Have
comms plan for every
project with end user
impact

21. Lessons & Challenges
Policies &
Standards
Process
Technology
Cost
People
Process
• Insist on agreeing
processes and blueprint
design before
implementation
• Be realistic – Paper light vs
Paperless
• Where digital is the only
new process – switch off
alternative!

22. Lessons & Challenges
Policies &
Standards
Process
Technology
Cost
People
Process
• For core systems
requirements (Finance,
Procurement, HR, Payroll)
– make decision to change
processes to fit system and
not customise system to fit
process

23. Lessons & Challenges
Policies &
Standards
Process
Technology
Cost
People
Technology
• Business Continuity
increasingly reliant on
availability of technology
• 24x7 support requirement
• Hosted vs on premise

24. Lessons & Challenges
Policies &
Standards
Process
Technology
Cost
People
Cost
• Digital is not always
cheaper (or there is long-
term ROI) – Business
case needs to focus on
more than cashable ROI

25. Any questions?